


and he ran

by Anonymous



Category: Cobra Kai (Web Series)
Genre: F/M, all of this is what Robby thinks, and what he thinks on the way, how he percieves his world, robby is on the run, this is a character piece about Robby Keene, this is where he runs to
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-03
Updated: 2020-09-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:07:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26273848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: He had always been good at running. From the time he was a kid, Robby was never where he was supposed to be, or at least that was what his mother’s boyfriends, his teachers, hell, any adult within a five mile radius, had always told him. Back then he found some joy in being a nuisance to the people that deemed him less than. It was fun to needle adults that would have preferred he had never been born. Until the fists swung.When the punching began, Robby would run.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 26
Collections: Anonymous





	and he ran

And he ran.

When he saw Miguel tip over the edge of the railing, something in his chest, terror maybe, strangled him like a cobra. Robby blindly reacted.

Robby ran. 

He had always been good at running. From the time he was a kid, he was never where he was supposed to be, or at least that was what his mother’s boyfriends, his teachers, _hell_ , _any adult within a five mile radius_ , had always told him. Back then he found some joy in being a nuisance to the people that deemed him less than. It was fun to needle adults that would have preferred he had never been born. Until the fists swung. When the punching began, Robby would run.

Only Mr. LaRusso was different, but with one swift, misplaced kick, he had lost his trust, too.

Perhaps it was a blessing, he thought, that this all happened on the first day of school. It would have been worse if he had gotten comfortable at West Valley and lost everything later. He would have known the life that he had squandered. But now, there was nothing _real_ to miss.

Robby ran and kept running until his chest was sore and burning, and still, he ran some more. He ran until he was beyond the city lines of Encino and sprinted until the streets blurred into colors and shapes. The rush of buildings that floated past his head were run down and dingy. Somehow he managed to crack a smile. Samantha would have never been caught dead in a place like this.

 _Sam_. Her name echoed through him like a physical kick to the chest. Ironic. He had long since become numb to his injuries from the West Valley fight, but one thought of Sam and he was raw like an open wound. Robby should have known a girl like that—good and nice and so utterly remarkable—would have never have gone for a guy like him. Miguel was the better man and he had accidentally pitched him off a second story.

His eyes stung with unshed tears as his mind conjured all kinds of unbidden memories from the summer. He remembered everything about her and him and their too brief romance. When she had first tried to kiss him in front of that fire, he had thought it was a bad idea. He would stain someone like Sam. Ruin her. Break her heart.

He had been right.

Robby ground his teeth down, trying to block the onslaught of feelings that threatened to overwhelm him. Who cared if he broke a tooth? What was another broken thing?

He remembered when she snuck into his room, down in the guest house, the night after the roller rink debacle. She had been so ashamed, she said, that she had let her anger get the better of her with Tory. In the darkness of the room, he had barely been able to make out the soft pink t-shirt dress she padded into the room in. It was a nightgown, she blushed.

She had looked, _shit_ , she had looked so angelic with her dark hair curled down past her shoulders. Embarrassed, she sat on the end of his bed, with his jaw stupefied and slack, and asked for his forgiveness. Him.

That moment had felt like someone else’s life. Robby Keene was a piece of shit. Robby Keene was a delinquent. Robby Keene had stolen and swindled. Everyone in his life, ever, had given up on him. His own mother had skipped town at every opportunity because he wasn’t enough to make her stay.

And yet, that night, Sam had crawled into his bed and pressed her nose into his long neck. She had thrown her arm over his chest and cuddled up to him in the darkness. He remembered how he looked up at the ceiling and quietly asked, “Why me?”

Sam had touched his face, gently, and tilted his chin down to look at her. In the blackness of his room, he had only been able to see the vague outline of her. “Because,” she said. “You’re Robby.”

He didn’t know what she had meant, but she kissed him quiet. He had foolishly thought he had more time to work out those words—because you're Robby—when he bunched his fists in the soft fabric of her nightgown and kissed her back. He didn't need the answer that night or even the next. That Robby Keene had endless possibilities. Sam LaRusso had kissed him and he had forever to figure out why. 

This Robby Keene ran. 

He willed himself to forget her face, but she wouldn’t go away. The faster he ran, the more he remembered. He wanted to forget.

For the first time in his life, he finally understood his father. 

He was panting, tacky with sweat, when he discovered he couldn't run anymore. His legs began to buckle traitorously and whatever adrenaline he was banking on from the fight had long since worn out. Before he knew it, Robby was falling to his knees and reaching out dumbly for something to keep him up. His hands met air. 

Robby gave into the abyss, touching his forehead to the dirty ground, and let himself recover. Finally, when his eyes cleared, for the first time in hours, Robby frowned. Maybe he did know where he had been running all along.

Something sick settled in his stomach as he found the strength to lift his head. 

Maybe all along he had been running from this. Maybe the miles he had traversed today were just taking him back to where he belonged. LaRusso and West Valley and _Sam_ had been some short-lived daydream. He was Robby Keene and he was a bad kid. 

He stumbled to his feet and approached the beaten down black door. Robby knocked twice. The door swung open.

"Hey Trey. Cruz."


End file.
